No ConFLiCT In Scheduling Future Games
The Story: UConn hopes to put the silly Civil ConFLiCT trophy behind it, but even with the move to independent status, the Huskies are working with UCF on a future deal to play in football.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Randy Edsall let the cat out of the bag (where on earth does that metaphor come from?) when asked about playing UCF and AAC teams in the future. Edsall said athletic director Dave Benedict is working on getting UCF and perhaps other AAC teams on the schedule.
SCHEDULE TALK: This is actually the first time we remember Edsall talking about the Huskies’ future as an independent. Maybe he is finally over the Marcus Brutus-style betrayal of the athletic department, or, it’s a sage coach putting the focus there rather than being 40-plus point underdogs against UCF in Orlando on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2). Or, maybe Edsall was just answering a question.
As far as the future, UConn needs to recruit Florida for players and playing games there is paramount to the future of the program. We would expect USF and UCF to be on UConn’s schedule as well as other areas it recruits. We would hope Temple and Navy also are on the UConn schedule in the future. The Huskies need Pennsylvania and could really use a game in the Baltimore-Washington area with Maryland on the schedule in the future. Too bad the Huskies can’t play in Canada. We are totally in favor of bringing back the International Bowl. Maybe make it a preseason game.
WHAT DID EDSALL SAY? “We’ve had discussions with UCF. Not to get ahead of myself because I’m only concerned about this year, but I know there have been some discussions. And there are teams from the AAC that we still want to play because it makes sense with what we want to do from a recruiting standpoint.”
WHAT ABOUT UCF? We are not going to sugarcoat it: This game looks impossible for UConn. While we might get the urge to head to Rhode Island and put some Ben Franklins on the Huskies at minus-42, we aren’t holding out hope it will be close. UCF has to win convincingly because it lost to Pittsburgh and still needs to impress if it wants to earn the G5 bid for a New Year’s Six game. UConn? It just needs to play good fundamental football and improve from Saturday’s debacle at Indiana. Winning this game on paper, on a computer or in your heart defies logic. Sorry, don’t get your hopes up.
HEALTH IS GOOD: D.J. Morgan, who was injured several times against Indiana, is scheduled to play as are safety Tyler Coyle, cornerback Tahj Herring-Wilson and tight end Donovan Williams, who missed the game entirely.
Morning Reads
SCOREBOARD PODCAST: Orlando Tribune UCF writer Matt Murschel speaks about Saturday’s football game. (CT Scoreboard)
WILLIAMS WRAPS UP SUMMER: Christyn Williams was one of six players who helped Team USA to a seventh-place finish in the inaugural FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series, playing three-on-three basketball across the world. (Hartford Courant)
BIG WIN IN SAN JUAN: Led by a number of UConn alumni, Team USA defeated Colombia 88-46 in the second game of the FIBA AmeriCup yesterday. (Alexa Philippou on Twitter)
HUSKIES PICKED NINTH: The preseason edition of the Hockey East Beat Writers’ Association poll has the men’s hockey team at No. 9 entering the season. (Mike Machnik on Twitter)
AMONG THE BEST: A ranking put together by D1Baseball.com has UConn as the No. 36 program in the country. (UConn Baseball on Twitter)
JALEN ADAMS SIGNS WITH PELICANS: Former UConn star Jalen Adams signed a camp contract with the Pelicans. (Yardbarker)
ROSE AT HOME: Jay Rose has finally found his place at UConn as a tight end. (CT Insider)
